Tag: Nigel Coton

World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS) is today pleased to announce that the upcoming Derby Open will be supported by DS Smith.

Entries are already open for the final event of the 2018/19 season which will take place for a third time at the Cueball Derby, one of our most well-established venues.

The weekend will begin on Friday 17 May with an open day for people with all disabilities to come and try snooker, with expert coaches on hand to provide advice and support at the Go Green Energy Coaching Zone.

Over the following two days (18-19 May) both deaf and visually impaired players will then compete in tournaments, with a Challenge Cup event on the second day for players who do not progress from the group stage to ensure that everyone has plenty of snooker to enjoy throughout the weekend.

DS Smith is a European leading packaging company of customer-specific packaging with emphasis on state-of-the art packaging design and local service close to customer facilities. The company has a product portfolio that includes transit packaging, consumer packaging, displays and promotional packaging, customised protective packaging and industrial packaging.

The support provided by DS Smith comes as a result of exhibition evenings featuring Ronnie O’Sullivan and Jimmy White, held over the last year in Lincoln and organised by former WDBS champion Nigel Coton and his wife Ali. Both events were made possible with the support of DS Smith, with surplus funds from ticket sales donated to WDBS.

Michael Buckley, Managing Director of the DS Smith Featherstone business, who lives near Derby, will be in attendance over the weekend to understand how the WDBS has grown and to present prizes on the Sunday.

ByMatt Huart
In General News
Updated: Oct 13, 2018Comments Off on Field Confirmed for Parris Cues Champion of Champions

Later this month World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS) will host the Parris Cues Champion of Champions for the first time and we can today reveal the 24 players who will be competing in the event.

To be held at the South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester on the weekend of 20-21 October 2018, the event will comprise six tournaments with the most successful four players from each of the regular WDBS classification groups between November 2015 – May 2018 invited to participate.

Each of the tournaments will begin with a round-robin group stage, with the top two players at the end of the group to contest a title match to decide the Champion of Champions for each classification.

The players who will be competing are:

Groups 1-2

Graham Bonnell, Craig Welsh, Daniel Lee, Tony Southern

Group 3

Daniel Blunn, Nigel Coton, William Thomson, Andrew Harper

Groups 4-5

Raja Subramanian, Andy Johnson, David Church, David Weller

Group 6

Daniel Harwood, Leroy Williams, Rich Yendle, Andrew Galley

Group 7

Paul Smith, Nick Neale, Mike Gillespie, David Baker

Group 8

Shabir Ahmed, Blake Munton, Lewis Knowles, Richard Gott

As previously announced, each of the six winners will receive an invitation to compete at next year’s WSF Championships in Dubai, with the costs of their travel and hotel to be sponsored by 360Fizz.

The winners will also receive the first prize and be presented with the Nick Oliver Trophy by John Parris, of the event sponsor Parris Cues. Each group winner will also receive their own trophy to take home and keep.

The Parris Cues Champion of Champions will become an annual event on the calendar, with the top performing players from each group over a two-year period qualifying for the event.

Spectators are encouraged to attend and support the players competing in the event.

Daniel Blunn claimed his third World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS) title at the inaugural Welsh Open in Cwmbran last weekend.

Held at Redz Snooker Club, the tournament was the first open to players from all eight disability classification groups, including players with physical, sensory and learning disabilities. Over 48 players competed across 12 groups, with the best performing players progressing to the knockout stages and the remaining competitors paired in our first-ever mixed classification doubles competition on the final day.

The main competition reached a thrilling climax as Daniel Blunn defeated Andy Johnson 3-2 in a deciding frame to claim his third WDBS title.

The duo, both of whom have cerebral palsy, came into the final as previous WDBS champions, Blunn having taken the honours in Group 3 competitions in Gloucester (2015) and Manchester (2017), while Johnson claimed victory in the Group 4-5 competition in Manchester back in 2016. The final had all the hallmarks of being a tight affair and so it proved as they needed all five frames to determine a winner.

Ultimately however it was Sutton Coldfield’s Blunn who would prevail, dominating the final two frames to secure a hat-trick of titles.

There was a remarkable story in the Mixed Classification Doubles event meanwhile as 88-year-old Albert Taylor paired with Danny Luton to claim the title. The pair defeated Group 8 duo Tony Davies and Lewis Knowles, the latter also a finalist at the recent Derby Open, 2-0 in the final to claim victory.

The highest break of the competition was 48, made by David Church on the opening day.

The weekend was supported by WDBS player Nigel Coton, who recently teamed up with Snooker Legends to organise an exhibition evening in Lincoln from which surplus monies raised from the evening were donated to the WDBS and added to funds provided by regular sponsors J&S Trading and Christine Cummings to form the overall prize fund for this event.

Nigel Coton said: “We have seen another fantastic weekend of snooker staged by the WDBS. The organisation is growing significantly and to see a record 48 entries to this event is brilliant – let’s try to get it up to 64. Everyone involved has really enjoyed it and had a great time. The event has been another real success.”

The event was also attended by current main tour professionals Michael White and Lee Walker, who kindly took time out from their schedules to meet the players and pose for photographs. The WDBS would like to thank both the players and also everyone at our hosts Redz Snooker Club for their support during the weekend.

You can view all of the results from the weekend’s main competition via MySnookerStats.

Over £1,000 was raised for World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS) last Friday an exhibition event held in Lincoln by Snooker Legends.

Featuring five-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan and BBC commentator John Virgo, the event was organised by former WDBS event winner Nigel Coton and saw the Rocket in top form as he made seven century breaks from nine frames, including a maximum 147 during the evening.

As had been agreed prior to the event, surplus funds raised will be donated to the WDBS. The money, totalling £1,147 will be incorporated into the overall prize fund for the inaugural WDBS Welsh Open, to be held at Redz Snooker Club on 30 June – 2 July 2017.

On hand to receive the donation on behalf of the WDBS were regular players Daniel Blunn and Joe Hardstaff, both of whom had the opportunity to meet and have photographs with O’Sullivan.

WDBS Welsh Open

The entry pack for the WDBS Welsh Open is now available to download here. The competition will be the first open to players from ALL eight disability classification groups and will be played using a Six Red format.

As at previous events, the weekend will begin with a Friday open day, at which players with all disabilities are encouraged to attend and try snooker, ahead of a two-day competitive tournament.

If you require more information about the event or how you can get involved with the WDBS please us our contact form.

World Disability Billiards and Snooker (WDBS) staged its biggest event to date last weekend at the South West Snooker Centre, Gloucester.

The second Open Disability Snooker Championship following last year’s inaugural event saw entries almost double in number across five disability classification groups (groups 1-5) from a year ago. As in 2015, three main competitions were contested, together with a Challenge Cup event for players not qualifying for the knockout stages.

First the first time at a WDBS event, prize money was offered to the finalists of each category, as well as the overall high break with the support of Renishaw plc and the Paul Hunter Foundation.

Graham Bonnell successfully defended his title

The Group 1/2 event for wheelchair players saw Oxted’s Graham Bonnell complete a successful defence of the title that he won almost a year ago with a 2-0 victory against Glyn Lloyd in the final.

Bonnell, who earlier this year visited the Alexandra Palace and received a backstage tour at the Masters following his win last year, won all three of his group matches for the loss of just two frames, before defeating Mark Parsons and Lloyd for victory.

Group 3 saw a new winner crowned as Nigel ‘Bandit’ Coton from Goulceby, Lincolnshire came through to claim his first WDBS title.

The 54-year-old, who plays with one arm following nerve damage as a result of a motorbike accident at the age of 17, first defeated 2015 winner Daniel Blunn 2-1 in a dramatic semi-final, before repeating the feat against last year’s runner-up Andrew Harper in the decisive match.

For defeated semi-finalist Blunn however, there was some consolation as he claimed the overall high break prize of £100 provided by the Paul Hunter Foundation, with his opening day run of 49.

Nigel Coton won his first WDBS competition

The Group 4/5 competition saw a second player defend their Gloucester title from last year as India’s Raja Subramanian saw off newcomer David Moore to take victory.

With six breaks over 30 during the weekend, he survived a close match against Cwmbran’s Adam Leighton in the quarter-finals, before defeating countryman Vishal Malhotra in the semi-finals and Moore for the title.

Subramanian will next be in action at the 2016 World Billiards Championship, which runs until 26th October in Leeds.

Finally, the Challenge Cup was won by Daniel Lee, who edged out Birmingham’s Russell Broomhall in a one-frame final.

Raja Subramanian a winner again in Gloucester

For the first time the WDBS also held a Learning Disability Snooker Festival with the support of Special Olympics Gloucestershire. The event included a formal six-red tournament, which saw Rich Yendle defeat David Mac to claim the title. Residents from Leonard Cheshire, who had previously visited the World Championship in Sheffield earlier this year, also visited during the festival and enjoyed opportunities to both watch and play snooker.

As at previous events, the tournament was supported throughout by WPBSA World Snooker coaches Tim Squires, Bob Hill and Danielle Findlay.

WDBS Chairman Nigel Mawer said: “As the Chairman of the WDBS I am really pleased by how we are progressing. We have moved from fewer than 20 entries last year here in Gloucester, to 34 this year and had some long, but rewarding days.

“What I really like about this sport is that you have got players from one category acting as helpers for players in other categories. It is absolutely amazing the camaraderie that is coming out.

“I am very pleased as to where we are, but there is still a long way to go and a lot of work to do.”

Rich Yendle took the G6 title

WDBS director Jonathan Adams added: “I think that we have shown fantastic development over the last 12 months and I think that our players who have been with us since the start have been pleasantly surprised as to how we have grown, both on and off the table.

“The pathways that we are putting in place behind the scenes to develop the sport will only enhance players opportunities in the future. We have new talent coming in, both from abroad and within the UK, which is strengthening the classes and can only raise our profile as we grow as a governing body.

“When we have got players helping each other along the way, it gives the feeling of a family and ultimately snooker is accessible for so many people and that is the beautiful thing that I think we display better than anybody else.”

The next WDBS tournament will be the Hull Open which is set to run on 11-13 November 2016 at the Tradewell Snooker Centre, Hull. The event will be the second WDBS event open to players with visual or hearing disabilities (Groups 7-8) and will be supported by prize fund sponsors Hudgell Solicitors and Think Telecom.

As at all WDBS events, players with all disabilities are encouraged to attend the Friday open day and receive free practice and coaching.

You can view photos from the event on our Facebook page at each of the following links:

WDBS Facebook

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